Harris County, Georgia

Harris County is a county located in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia; its western border with the state of Alabama is formed by the Chattahoochee River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,668. The county seat is Hamilton. The largest city in the county is Pine Mountain, a resort town that is home to the Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park (the largest state park in Georgia). Harris County was created on December 14, 1827, and named for Charles Harris, a Georgia judge and attorney. Harris County is part of the Columbus, GA-AL metropolitan area and has become a popular suburban and exurban destination of residence for families relocating from Columbus. Because of this, Harris has become the sixth-wealthiest county in Georgia in terms of per capita income and the third-wealthiest in the state outside of Metro Atlanta.

History

The county was settled by European Americans largely after the federal government had removed the indigenous Creek people (Muscogee) in the 1830s, under treaties by which they ceded most of their homelands to the United States. They were relocated to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

In the antebellum era, parts of the county were developed for cotton plantations, the premier commodity crop. Planters acquired numerous enslaved African Americans as laborers from the Upper South through the domestic slave trade.

The County Courthouse was designed by Edward Columbus Hosford of Georgia and completed in 1906.

Moonshiners were active in the mountain areas of the county in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Both whites and blacks took part in this, and were common drinking patrons. and "notorious predator of black women."

Of this group, Dusky Crutchfield was the first woman lynched in Georgia. Also murdered by the lynch mob were Eugene Harrington, Burrell Hardaway, and Johnie Moore. (Note: There was confusion about the names of victims at the time, and variations in spelling have been published.) Economic issues and competition were often at the bottom of lynchings. A white man took over Gilbert's land, cheating his family out of everything he had built.

Geography

thumb|right|250px|View of Harris County on Pine Mountain

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (1.9%) are covered by water.

The county is located in the Piedmont region of the state, with forests, farmland, and rolling hills covering much of the county. The Pine Mountain Range begins in the county, and runs across the northernmost parts of the county, with the highest point on the range found at Dowdell's Knob near the Meriwether County line.

The majority of Harris County is located in the middle Chattahoochee River–Lake Harding subbasin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin), with the exception of the county's southeastern border area, south of Ellerslie, which is located in the middle Chattahoochee River–Walter F. George Lake subbasin of the same ACF River Basin as that part of the county is drained by Bull Creek, which flows into Upatoi Creek south of Columbus.

Lake Harding and Goat Rock Lake both form much of the county's western border along the Chattahoochee, and both are very popular recreational destinations, especially for metro Columbus residents.

Major highways

20px Interstate 85
25px Interstate 185
20px U.S. Route 27
20px 20px U.S. Route 27 Alternate
20px State Route 1
20px State Route 18
20px State Route 36
20px State Route 85
20px State Route 85 Alternate
25px State Route 103
25px State Route 116
25px State Route 190
25px State Route 208
25px State Route 219
25px State Route 315
25px State Route 354
25px State Route 403 (unsigned designation for I-85)
25px State Route 411 (unsigned designation for I-185)

Adjacent counties

Troup County (north)
Meriwether County (northeast)
Talbot County (east)
Muscogee County (south)
Lee County, Alabama (southwest/CST border)
Chambers County, Alabama (northwest/CST border except Lanett and Valley as the cities are jointed by the Columbus metropolitan area)

Communities

Cities

Hamilton (county seat)
Shiloh
West Point (part, most of city is in Troup County)

Towns

Pine Mountain
Waverly Hall

Census-designated places

Antioch
Cataula
Ellerslie
Piney Grove

Unincorporated communities

Fortson (part, mostly in Muscogee County)
Midland (part, mostly in Muscogee County)
Mountain Hill
Ossahatchie
Pine Mountain Valley
Ridgeway
Whitesville

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Harris County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|10,010

|13,041

|18,444

|24,848

|style='background: #ffffe6; |25,925

|64.73%

|73.31%

|77.84%

|77.59%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |74.78%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|5,215

|4,559

|4,597

|5,457

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,170

|33.72%

|25.63%

|19.40%

|17.04%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |14.91%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|26

|52

|82

|100

|style='background: #ffffe6; |101

|0.17%

|0.29%

|0.35%

|0.31%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.29%

|Asian alone (NH)

|33

|39

|118

|280

|style='background: #ffffe6; |388

|0.21%

|0.22%

|0.50%

|0.87%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.12%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|17

|style='background: #ffffe6; |21

|0.02%

|0.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.06%

|Other race alone (NH)

|45

|style='background: #ffffe6; |138

|0.05%

|0.00%

|0.02%

|0.14%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.40%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|185

|405

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,508

|0.78%

|1.26%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.35%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|172

|97

|260

|872

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,417

|1.11%

|0.55%

|1.10%

|2.72%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.09%

|Total

|15,464

|17,788

|23,695

|32,024

|style='background: #ffffe6; |34,668

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 34,668 and 9,581 families residing in the county.

The median age was 43.7 years, 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18, and 18.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.2 males age 18 and over. 2.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 97.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 12,770 households in the county, of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 19.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Harris County is part of district 138 and 139.

Education

The Harris County School District holds preschool to grade 12 and consists of four elementary schools, an intermediate school, a middle school, and a high school. The district headquarters is located in Hamilton, and has 274 full-time teachers and over 4,411 students spread out over seven schools.

Mulberry Creek Elementary School (Cataula)
New Mountain Hill Elementary School (Fortson)
Park Elementary School (Hamilton)
Pine Ridge Elementary School (Ellerslie)
Creekside Intermediate School (grades 5–6) (Cataula)
Harris County Carver Middle School (Hamilton)
Harris County High School (Hamilton)

Notable people

Reuben J. Crews, father of C.C. Crews and a colonel in the Georgia Militia
Josh Pate, college football podcast host with 247Sports
Benjamin Franklin White, clerk of the Inferior Court of Harris County, mayor of Whitesville, and compiler of the shape note songbook known as The Sacred Harp

References

External links

Columbus Enquirer Archive Digital Library of Georgia
Harris County historical marker